Press Release – Large Number of Snowbirds Came Early

LARGE NUMBERS OF SNOWBIRDS CAME EARLY THIS YEAR TO RV RESORTS IN TUCSON AND ACROSS SOUTHERN ARIZONA

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Nov. 12, 2019 –

Large numbers of snowbirds have arrived early to RV parks and resorts in the Tucson area, echoing a phenomenon reported at many other parks across Arizona this fall.

“We’ve had a huge shift in our income,” said Wendy Bykofsky, chief financial officer for the 1,100-site Rincon Country West RV Resort in Tucson.

Snowbirds used to come in big numbers after Thanksgiving. Now they’re coming much earlier and in larger numbers.

“People are coming in October and November and they’re staying longer,” Bykofsky said, noting that Rincon Country experienced the same thing last year.

Geoffrey Campbell, general manager of Voyager RV Resort in Tucson, said he is seeing a similar trend at his 1,800-site park.

James Watson and his brothers, Joe and George, see the same thing happening in Yuma. The three brothers were planning to install new pickleball, bocce ball and shuffleboard courts and make other improvements at Arizona West RV Park in Yuma before the snowbirds arrived, but their plans got interrupted.

“The snowbirds came back early this year!” Watson exclaimed. “They were already coming back in September!”

He said cold weather up North prompted many snowbirds to come back to Yuma earlier this year, and that he has seen the same phenomenon at his family’s other parks, including Friendly Acres RV Resort in Yuma and their two Phoenix parks, Deer Valley RV Park and Desert’s Edge RV Park.

Resort operators elsewhere in Arizona have also experienced earlier than normal snowbird arrivals, including Islander RV Resort in Lake Havasu City.

Meanwhile, park operators in Tucson are working to complete their latest improvements.

Rincon Country expects to have a new building completed this month for crafts and sewing as well as additional classroom space.

Voyager RV Resort, for its part, was finishing renovation work on its 36-room hotel in preparation for the upcoming winter season. The hotel rooms are typically used by guests of residents staying at Voyager during the winter months.

Campbell said he expects the work to be completed by mid-December.